Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) Sheridan WY

It is widely understood that about 1 in 10 people have the disease of alcoholism. That 10% of the population includes all races, creeds, ages, sexes, religions, and all other factors. Alcoholism does not discriminate any of these; it simple exists when the individual has the threefold illness.

Volunteers of America was founded in 1896 by social reformers Ballington and Maud Booth. They envisioned a movement dedicated to “reaching and uplifting” the American people. On behalf of the organization, the Booths pledged to "go wherever we are needed, and do whatever comes to hand." That declaration has guided Volunteers of America’s outreach efforts ever since.

THE EARLY 1900sIn turn-of-the-century America, there was no shortage of work to do. The Volunteers moved into tenement districts to care for people in poverty. They organized day nurseries and summer camps, provided housing for single men and women, and established the nation's first system of halfway houses for released prisoners. maud9.jpgTHE DEPRESSIONThe Great Depression of the 1930s stretched the nation's private social welfare system almost to the breaking point. Volunteers of America mobilized to assist the millions of people who were unemployed, hungry and homeless. Relief efforts included employment bureaus, wood yards, soup kitchens, and "Penny Pantries" where every food item cost one cent.

WARTIMEVolunteers of America served proudly on the home front during both world wars. The group operated canteens, overnight lodging and Sunday breakfasts for soldiers and sailors on leave. Affordable housing and child care were provided for defense industry workers. Further, Volunteers of America spearheaded community salvage drives during World War II, collecting millions of pounds of scrap metal, rubber and fiber for the war effort.

THE 1960sOur special mission in housing dates to our organization's founding. Volunteers of America helped accelerate real estate development during the 1960s by taking part in numerous federal housing programs. Since 1968, Volunteers of America has developed over 300 affordable housing complexes in more than 30 states..

THE 1970sIn the 1970s, the organization emerged as a major provider of professional long-term nursing care. Today, Volunteers of America not only offers home health care and related services, but owns and operates several nursing facilities, and assisted and independent living residences.

TODAYVolunteers of America is one of the nation's largest and most comprehensive human services organizations, touching the lives of more than 2 million people each year in communities across the United States. Planning for the next 100 years, Volunteers of America will continue to prove that “there are no limits to caring.” - See more at: http://www.voanr.org/About-Us/Our-History#sthash.6hbnlYPe.dpuf

The Truth about Alcoholism and Alcoholics Anonymous

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The Truth about Alcoholism and Alcoholics Anonymous

Cindy Weir

Friday, September 14, 2007 I have read many articles on the subject of alcoholism and AA. Most are full of misinformation, misunderstanding and untruth. This is my attempt, as a member of Alcoholics Anonymous, to help you understand this cunning, baffling and powerful disease and how AA helps us live sober, one day at a time.

The disease of alcoholism, (yes, it's a disease), is a threefold illness- physical, mental and spiritual. There is no cure for alcoholism. What we have is recovery and discovery. It is not a program of self-improvement of self-help. It is a program of self-discovery.

It is widely understood that about 1 in 10 people have the disease of alcoholism. That 10% of the population includes all races, creeds, ages, sexes, religions, and all other factors. Alcoholism does not discriminate any of these; it simple exists when the individual has the threefold illness.

The first aspect of the disease is physical. An alcoholic processes alcohol differently than the &quotnormal&quot drinker. Of course the term normal includes all ranges of drinkers. But only the alcoholic develops what is known as the phenomenon of craving. In essence, an alcoholic is allergic to alcohol. This allergy manifests itself in this craving making it impossible for us to stop drinking. It is the FIRST drink that gets us drunk, not the last. When one drink is ingested it sets off this phenomenon of craving and makes us want more and more and more. We do not stop until we pass out, black out, go to jail, experience many consequences, and/or die.

The mental obsession is the second aspect of the disease of alcoholism. This obsession crowds out all other thoughts, including the reminders of all the pain, heartache, injury or other consequence that we have experienced. The disease of alcoholism centers in the mind. Therefore, the mind of the alcoholic cannot differentiate between the true and the false. We have just as much a thinking problem as we do a drinking problem.

If these two aspects sound grim, that is because they are what leads us to the desperation, futility and hopelessness that we feel while we are in the throes of the disease. We are either drinking, or we are thinking about drinking. Either way, we have no positive results.

This leads us to the third aspect of alcoholism- the spiritual. An alcoholic must experience an entire psychic change to overcome the physical and mental parts of our disease. There is a &quotblack hole&quot that we feel and all we know to do is fill it with alcohol. Yet alcohol is only a symptom, our temporary solution to help us not have to feel. We self-medicate, and once we put any form of alcohol, including some in pill form, we set off this allergy/phenomenon of craving and we are gone. And, when we are not drinking, all we can do is obsess over the next drink- when and how we're going to get it. It is a vicious, never-ending cycle which leaves t...

Using a drug to treat addiction may seem ironic, but doctors say it can work. How? The drug blocks the brain receptor that may associate reward benefits with drinking. There are other drugs to help with alcohol addiction, but they have to be taken daily, and often with pretty harsh side effects like sweating, vomiting, and rapid heart beat.